title: Combining randomly textured surfaces and photonic crystals for the photon management in thin film microcrystalline silicon solar cells.
abstract: Photon management aims at optimizing the solar cell efficiency by, e.g., incorporating supporting optical nanostructures for absorption enhancement. Their geometrical design, however, is usually a compromise since requirements in different spectral domains need to be accommodated. This issue can be mitigated if multiple optical nanostructures are integrated. Here, we present a photon management scheme that combines the benefits of a randomly textured surface and an opaline photonic crystal. Moreover, upon considering the device with an increasing complexity, we show that a structure that respects the mutual fabrication constraints has the best performance, i.e., a device where the photonic crystal is not perfect but to some extent amorphous as enforced by the presence of the texture.
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Wiesendanger
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Zilk
authors.forename: T
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Pertsch
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Rockstuhl
authors.forename: F
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Lederer